Dump linkage for rear powered elevating scraper

ABSTRACT

A rear powered elevator equipped scraper vehicle having a bowl with a pivoted rotating floor for emptying material without an ejector device. The mechanism for actuating the rotating floor for material dumping is located non-interferingly behind the bowl and beneath the rear engine compartment and rear axle. The rearward frame members of the vehicle act as guiding tracks for a longitudinally translatable dolly which carries a forwardly extending horizontally disposed link which is pivoted to a forward portion of the rotating floor. Upon rearward actuation of the dolly by means of a substantially horizontally disposed jack mechanism, the rotating floor pivots rearwardly and upwardly to open the bowl bottom for dumping.

United States Patent 91 Gee 1 Mar. 25, 1975 DUMP LINKAGE FOR REAR POWERED ELEVATING SCRAPER [75] Inventor: James E. Gee, Washington, 111.

[73] Assignee: Caterpillar Tractor Co., Peoria, 111.

[22] Filed: Nov. 19, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 416,956

[52] U.S. C1. 37/8, 37/126 AE, 37/129 [51] Int. Cl E021 3/62 [58] Field of Search 37/124, 126 R, 126 AB, 37/126 AE, 129, 8, 4; 180/56 [56] References Cited 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,994,976 8/1961 Hancock 37/126 AE 3.296.715 1/1967 Jass ct al 37/8 3,479,758 11/1969 Johnson et a1 37/126 R X 3,555,710 1/1971 Erickson et a1 37/129 3,675,347 7/1972 Siewert et al 37/126 AE FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,047.317 12/1951 France 37/126 AE Prinutry E.rumitwr-Edgar S. Burr Assistant E.\'an1inc'rE. H. Eickholt Attorney, Agent. or Firm--Phil1ips, Moore, Weissenberger, Lempio & Strabala [57] ABSTRACT A rear powered elevator equipped scraper vehicle having a bowl with a pivoted rotating floor for emptying material without an ejector device. The mechanism for actuating the rotating floor for material dumping is located non-interferingly behind the bowl and beneath the rear engine compartment and rear axle. The rearward frame members of the vehicle act as guiding tracks for a longitudinally translatable dolly which carries a forwardly extending horizontally disposed link which is pivoted to a forward portion of the rotating floor. Upon rearward actuation of the dolly by means of a substantially horizontally disposed jack mechanism, the rotating floor pivots rearwardly and upwardly to open the bowl bottom for dumping.

' PATEHTED HARE 5 I975 sum 1 or? PATENTED 3.872.812

SHEET 2 BF 2 lITI 113 DUMP LINKAGE FOR REAR POWERED ELEVATING SCRAPER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Earthmoving scraper vehicles are often equipped with power means for both the front and rear wheels. Conventional scraper vehicles may also be equipped with a forwardly disposed elevator device to expedite filling of the bowl during use. Heretofore, however, it has been impractical to provide a scraper vehicle with both a rear power means and an elevator device due to interference between the rear power components and certain operating elements necessary in elevatorequipped scraper vehicles.

Non-elevating scraper vehicles such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,563,328 to Ahola et al., of common assignment herewith, are conveniently equipped with ejector devices for unloading material from the front end of the scraper bowl. Such vehicles may be readily equipped with a rear mounted engine located behind the rear wall and ejector mechanism ofthe bowl for driving the rear wheels.

However, scrapers equipped with an elevator, such as that shown in US. Pat. No. 3,452,458 to Campbell et al., of common assignment herewith, cannot use an ejector device for unloading the bowl because the elevator mechanism is located across the front end of the bowl and blocks exudation therefrom. Elevator equipped vehicles, therefore, usually have an alternate dumping system which generally includes a sidewall mounted rotating floor which swings rearwardly and upwardly to dump material through the bottom of the bowl when desired. Because the operating mechanism and linkage for such rotating floors is generally rearwardly disposed'and includes elements which tend to interfere with a rigidly mounted power means, elevator equipped scraper vehicles are generally not equipped with a rear wheel power means. As may be appreciated by reference to U.S. Pat. No. 3,452,458, the rotating floor actuating mechanism for elevator scrapers usually include a relatively large bell crank and a hydraulic jack for pivoting the crank to rotate the floor bottom. The location of such bell crank and jack mechanisms between the rear wheels and behind the rear wall of the scraper bowl effectively preclude the placement of an engine and transmission in the same area.

SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The instant invention provides an elevator equipped scraper vehicle having a rotating floor actuated by a mechanism which is disposed rearwardly of the rear wall of the bowl and which does not interfere with a rear mounted engine and power transmission system for the vehicle. The rearward frame structure provides guide tracks for a horizontally disposed longitudinally translatable dolly which is connected by horizontally disposed link means to a forward portion of the rotating floor of the bowl bottom. All major components of the rotating floor actuating mechanism are disposed beneath the rear axle of the vehicle such that the entire area above the axle and behind the rear wall of the bowl is available for mounting of an engine and transmission for powering the rear wheels of the vehicle.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a rear powered scraper vehicle with a rotating floor bowl bottom for ejecting material from the bowl and with an elevator device for loading the bowl.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a rearwardly extending actuating mechanism for the rotating floor of a rear powered elevating scraper vehicle which actuating mechanism is disposed substantially entirely beneath the rear axle of the vehicle.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partially cut-away sectional elevation of a rear powered elevator equipped scraper vehicle embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cut-away sectional elevation of the rear portion of the vehicle shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a partially cut-away bottom view ofthe vehicle taken generally along the line IIIIII of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION With reference to the drawings, a scraper vehicle is shown having a tractor l2 and a scraper 13 attached conventionally to the tractor. The scraper has a bowl assembly 15 mounted upon a pair of rear wheels 16 by means of rear frame structure 18. The bowl assembly 15 includes a pair of laterally spaced side walls 19 and an arcuately shaped rear wall 21. A laterally extending cutting edge 22 is mounted upon a support member 24 which is secured to the side walls 19. This cutting edge extends forwardly across the forward edge of the bowl bottom and projects downwardly for cutting material and for guiding such material into the bowl.

Movement of material from the cutting edge 22 into the bowl is assisted by means of an elevator device shown generally at 25, which has a lower portion situated proximate the cutting edge 22 and slightly forward thereof. The elevator mechanism extends upwardly from the cutting edge and is inclined rearwardly to form the forwardmost boundary of the bowl assembly 15.

The bottom of the bowl assembly 15 is comprised by a pivoting or rotating floor 27 which has a lower section 28 which closes the area between the cutting edge sup port 24 and the lower edge of the arcuate rear wall 21. A pair of laterally spaced apart triangular side plates 30 extend upwardly from the floor member 28 to a pair of pivots 31 in the side walls 19 which pivots are situated along the locus of centers of curvature for the arcuate rear wall 21. From such pivots, the rotating floor 27 may be rotated clockwise, as shown in the drawings, rearwardly and upwardly to the position shown in phantom at 27' to dump material from the bowl assem bly through the bottom thereof when desired. It should be understood for the purpose of this description and for the following claims that the terms rearwardly, forwardly, above, beneath, etc., relate to orientations of vehicle components when the vehicle is disposed upon a longitudinally extending horizontal plane, as shown in FIG. 1.

The acutating mechanism for the rotating floor is shown generally at 10. As most clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the rear frame structure 18 includes a pair of laterally spaced upper beams 33 and a pair of laterally spaced lower beams 34 which extend longitudinally rearwardly of the bowl assembly 15 and terminate in a transversely extending push pad 36. The lower beams 34 include inwardly opening channels or guide tracks 37. A pair of angled support members 39 extend between respective pairs of upper and lower beams 33 and 34 and connect such beams proximate the rear wall of the bowl.

Frame structure 18 also includes a pair of laterally spaced horizontally oriented rails 40 utilized for mounting an engine 42 and a transmission 43 thereupon. The engine 42 provides driving torque for rear wheels 16 to augment the front wheel engine of the tractor 12. Power is transmitted to the rear wheels through the transmission 43, a drive shaft 45, and a differential 46 all of which components are carried upon the rear frame 18. The rear wheels are driven through a frame mounted axle 48 in the usual manner.

More specifically, the actuating mechanism for the rotating floor 27 includes a first link member 50 which has one end thereof pivotally connected at 51 to a forward portion of the rotating floor section 28. The opposite end of such first link member is pivotally connected at 53 to a forward portion of a dolly device 54 by means of a forwardly extending bracket 55. The dolly is provided with four rollers 56, one for each corner thereof, which rollers are rotatably received Within the guide tracks 37 of the lower beam members 34 for providing substantially horizontal forward and rearward translation of the dolly along the beams. The rearward portion of the dolly is provided with an upstanding bracket assembly 59 to which is pivotally mounted at 62 one end of a telescoping hydraulic jack mechanism 60. The opposite end of the jack mechanism is pivotally connected at 63 to the rear wall 21.

Upon the selective extension of the jack 60, the dolly 54 is slidably moved from the forward position shown in FIG. 1 to the rearward position shown in FIG. 2. Due to the interconnection of the dolly 54 and the rotating floor 27 through the first link member 50, the rotating floor will pivot from a lowered closed position, shown by the solid lines in FIG. 1, to a raised open position, shown in phantom at 27' in FIG. I. With the rotating floor as shown in phantom, material contained within the scraper bowl may be discharged through the open bowl bottom.

While the invention has been described with particular reference to the preferred embodiment, it is apparent that variations and modifications are possible within the purview of the inventive concepts. No limitation with respect to such variations and modifications is intended, except by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A longitudinally extending earthmoving scraper vehicle having bowl means mounted upon frame means wherein said frame means are supported upon axle means having laterally spaced wheels thereon for supporting said vehicle upon an operating surface, said bowl means including a pair of laterally spaced side walls and a rear wall extending between said side walls, said bowl means further including cutting edge means extending between said sidewalls and movable floor means for selectively opening and closing a bottom portion of said bowl means, said movable floor means supported by said sidewalls for movement relative thereto, actuating means connected to said movable floor means for selectively moving said floor means to open or close said bowl means bottom portion, said axle means having a laterally extending axis lying in a longitudinally extending first plane, said actuating means disposed substantially entirely between said first plane and said operating surface said frame means including first beam means having guide track means. said actuating means including dolly means supported for movement by said first beam means within said guide track means, said dolly means being connected to said movable floor means for concurrent movement of said movable floor means and said dolly means as said dolly means moves within said guide track means.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said rear wall is arcuately shaped and has a locus of centers of curvature defined by a line passing through said sidewalls parallel to said laterally extending axis.

3. The invention of claim 1 including an engine for driving said wheels, said engine being mounted upon said frame means proximate said axle means on a side of said first plane opposite from said actuating means.

4. The invention of claim 2 wherein said movable floor means is pivotally mounted by pivot means upon sidewalls at said locus for rotating movement of said floor means about said pivot means to open and close said bottom portion, said movable floor means being disposed between said arcuate rear wall and said cutting edge means when said bottom portion is open.

5. The invention of claim 1 further including elevator means for assisting in the loading of material into said bowl means, said elevator means being disposed proximate said cutting edge means and extending laterally across said bowl means in opposed relation to said rear wall.

6. The invention of claim 1 wherein said actuating means include fluidjack means having first and second end portions for powering said actuating means. said fluid jack means being connected at said first end portion by pivotable fastening means to said rear wall.

7. The invention of claim 6 wherein said actuating means further including dolly means longitudinally movably supported by said guide track means, upstanding bracket means on said dolly means, said fluid jack means being connected at said second end portion to said bracket means for longitudinal movement of said dolly means along said guide track means upon actuation of said-fluid jack means.

8. The invention of claim 7 wherein said dolly means include a pivoting bracket and wherein said actuating means further include longitudinally extending link means for connecting a forward portion of said movable floor means to said pivoting bracket for concurrent movement of said dolly means, link means and movable floor means upon actuation of said fluid jack means.

9. The invention of claim 7 wherein said dolly means include a plurality of rollers rollingly engaging said guide track means of said first beam means.

10. The invention of claim 1 wherein said frame means further include second beam means disposed obliquely to said first beam means and converging toward said first beam means said first beam means and said second beam means being connected by transversely disposed push-pad means for permitting the application of pushing force to said scraper vehicle by auxiliary vehicle means.

11. The invention of claim 10 wherein said dolly means include a box-like frame comprised of first, second, third and fourth structural members connected together and braced by means of fifth and sixth diagonally disposed structural members, said dolly means 6 for powering said actuating means, said second end portion being connected for movement with said upstanding bracket means, said actuating means further including link means connected between said second structural member and said movable floor means. 

1. A longitudinally extending earthmoving scraper vehicle having bowl means mounted upon frame means wherein said frame means are supported upon axle means having laterally spaced wheels thereon for supporting said vehicle upon an operating surface, said bowl means including a pair of laterally spaced side walls and a rear wall extending between said side walls, said bowl means further including cutting edge means extending between said sidewalls and movable floor means for selectively opening and closing a bottom portion of said bowl means, said movable floor means supported by said sidewalls for movement relative thereto, actuating means connected to said movable floor means for selectively moving said floor means to open or close said bowl means bottom portion, said axle means having a laterally extending axis lying in a longitudinally extending first plane, said actuating means disposed substantially entirely between said first plane and said operating surface said frame means including first beam means having guide track means, said actuating means including dolly means supported for movement by said first beam means within said guide track means, said dolly means being connected to said movable floor means for concurrent movement of said movable floor means and said dolly means as said dolly means moves within said guide track means.
 2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said rear wall is arcuately shaped and has a locus of centers Of curvature defined by a line passing through said sidewalls parallel to said laterally extending axis.
 3. The invention of claim 1 including an engine for driving said wheels, said engine being mounted upon said frame means proximate said axle means on a side of said first plane opposite from said actuating means.
 4. The invention of claim 2 wherein said movable floor means is pivotally mounted by pivot means upon sidewalls at said locus for rotating movement of said floor means about said pivot means to open and close said bottom portion, said movable floor means being disposed between said arcuate rear wall and said cutting edge means when said bottom portion is open.
 5. The invention of claim 1 further including elevator means for assisting in the loading of material into said bowl means, said elevator means being disposed proximate said cutting edge means and extending laterally across said bowl means in opposed relation to said rear wall.
 6. The invention of claim 1 wherein said actuating means include fluid jack means having first and second end portions for powering said actuating means, said fluid jack means being connected at said first end portion by pivotable fastening means to said rear wall.
 7. The invention of claim 6 wherein said actuating means further including dolly means longitudinally movably supported by said guide track means, upstanding bracket means on said dolly means, said fluid jack means being connected at said second end portion to said bracket means for longitudinal movement of said dolly means along said guide track means upon actuation of said fluid jack means.
 8. The invention of claim 7 wherein said dolly means include a pivoting bracket and wherein said actuating means further include longitudinally extending link means for connecting a forward portion of said movable floor means to said pivoting bracket for concurrent movement of said dolly means, link means and movable floor means upon actuation of said fluid jack means.
 9. The invention of claim 7 wherein said dolly means include a plurality of rollers rollingly engaging said guide track means of said first beam means.
 10. The invention of claim 1 wherein said frame means further include second beam means disposed obliquely to said first beam means and converging toward said first beam means said first beam means and said second beam means being connected by transversely disposed push-pad means for permitting the application of pushing force to said scraper vehicle by auxiliary vehicle means.
 11. The invention of claim 10 wherein said dolly means include a box-like frame comprised of first, second, third and fourth structural members connected together and braced by means of fifth and sixth diagonally disposed structural members, said dolly means further including rollers attached to said first and third structural members for rollingly engaging said guide track means.
 12. The invention of claim 11, wherein said dolly means include upstanding bracket means on said fourth structural member, said actuating means including fluid jack means having first and second end portions for powering said actuating means, said second end portion being connected for movement with said upstanding bracket means, said actuating means further including link means connected between said second structural member and said movable floor means. 